Compiz is an important accessory for folks with eyesight problems and it also has the best way to zoom (scroll bar/superkey).I'm hoping that you can make at least versions with Mate Compiz friendly and perhaps add scroll/super zoom to cinnamon.

On MATE, if you open "Keyboard Shortcuts" from the Preferences menu, you can configure the shortcut key to toggle the magnifier. If you prefer Compiz, MATE comes with Compiz already installed, I think you just need to add the package compizconfig-settings-manager to be able to configure it.

Cinnamon on Linux Mint 13 is extremely easy to configure for zooming. Just go to System Tools > System Settings > Keyboard. On the Shortcuts tab select "Universal Access" on the left and you can configure the shortcut key to enable/disable zoom and the keys to zoom in and out. Couldn't be easier For those with other accessibility needs, check System Settings > Universal Access where you can configure help for those with trouble seeing, hearing or mobility (for some you configure the shortcut keys to enable/disable also in the above location).

Compiz may help on MATE, but I think it is not needed on Cinnamon due to the excellent integration of accessibility tools in the Gnome 3 core.

Vincent Vermeulen wrote:On MATE, if you open "Keyboard Shortcuts" from the Preferences menu, you can configure the shortcut key to toggle the magnifier. If you prefer Compiz, MATE comes with Compiz already installed, I think you just need to add the package compizconfig-settings-manager to be able to configure it.

Cinnamon on Linux Mint 13 is extremely easy to configure for zooming. Just go to System Tools > System Settings > Keyboard. On the Shortcuts tab select "Universal Access" on the left and you can configure the shortcut key to enable/disable zoom and the keys to zoom in and out. Couldn't be easier For those with other accessibility needs, check System Settings > Universal Access where you can configure help for those with trouble seeing, hearing or mobility (for some you configure the shortcut keys to enable/disable also in the above location).

Compiz may help on MATE, but I think it is not needed on Cinnamon due to the excellent integration of accessibility tools in the Gnome 3 core.

I'm sorry but Gnome3 accessibility is not at all excellent. In fact, it's pretty poor, especially when taken in the context of Compiz-driven releases such as Mint 10 / Ubuntu 10.10. First of all, zooming is NOT smooth the way it is on Compiz and available only via the keyboard - no mousewheel zoom. Secondly, on Cinnamon it's badly broken because context menus do not magnify after you zoom in the first time. On subsequent zooms, they stay regular size. Finally, the mouse cursor is not visible in context menus when the desktop is zoomed.

All in all, it's a complete disaster in Cinnamon at present - I've reported the issues but there doesn't appear to be any traction on them yet.